NYOS Symphony Orchestra, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall ****

You have to hand it to the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland. To put together a daring programme for its flagship Symphony Orchestra that coupled a challenging newish concerto with the awesome magnitude of Mahler’s Seventh Symphony so soon after the pandemic hiatus was not only hugely ambitious, but also risky. That it came off so impressively is a glowing testament to the power of youth and its capacity for recovery.

Such raging ambition beamed brightly in the opening work, the spectral unconventionality of Lotta Wennäkoski’s 2017 concerto for guitar, Susurrus, which plays creatively with the instrument’s potential for quixotic eccentricity and surreal projection. Guest soloist Sean Shibe, known widely for his fearless approach to experimental repertoire, proved a shining inspiration.

Daring: The NYOS Symphony Orchestra. Picture: Ryan Buchanan

With a title meaning “rustling” or “rasping”, there’s barely a melody to talk of in the concerto. Rather, it’s a collage of sonic incidents, progressing from ethereal introduction through contrasting tracts of meditation and controlled exhortation, to an ending that erupts into a weird but exhilarating climax with ghostly shades of heavy metal.

Shibe’s performance was mesmerising, as was the kaleidoscopic response from an orchestra, under Manchester-born conductor Catherine Larsen-Maguire, tasked with the same explorative and technical challenges. Their conviction was infectious.

That was also the case as the Mahler began its mountainous journey, its initial darkness ruefully captured but soon dismissed in the gutsier exuberance and soaring delights that ensued. There was fearless playing from a warm and robust horn section, ravishing solo lines from leader Chun-Yi Kang, and all-round committed virtuosity.

If there were signs of fatigue in the finale, and resulting moments of unsteadiness in the ensemble, for these young players to rally as they did for the symphony’s final thrust and belligerent send-off did justice to a demanding programme.

Music review: NYOS Symphony Orchestra, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall